Why not go north of the border?

The news that more people are now members of Reform rather than Labour reminded me that I should renew my search for a bolthole in the event of a Reform government. In an analyis of a by-election result in Darlington, Rob Ford from Manchester University pointed out that the 'progressive' vote had split four ways allowing Reform to win the seat. (This does seem to happen less often in the south of England where the Lib Dems often win). As The Economist had pointed out a number of scenarios are possible at the next election, although I suspect that if Reform were the largest party, the Conservative rump would allow them to take office.

One comment said that he would take his dog to the Scottish borders. So what about Scotland? I am of direct Scottish descent in the male line and a graduate of a Scottish university. I even found my clan tie the other day (NB: the Grants were Unionists).

However, I am no great fan of the Scot Nats. I have been following them since 1968 when I had my first article published on Welsh and Scottish Nationalism. I am not a great fan of nationalism in any shape or form. Although the SNP can claim to be 'progressive', they also lack competence, e.g., the fefrries fiasco, falling educational standards, the inability to tackle the admittedly formuidable drug problem in the central belt.

The inhabitants of the Northern Isles do not paticularly see themselves as Scottish. Indeed, the Orkney flag displayed at the top of the page is based on that of Norway. Norwegian is taught as a second language. Planes depart from Grimsetter to destinations like Stavanger and Bergen.

Hoy from Stromness

I know all this because I have made a number of visits to stay with an old friend who could not resist the lure of the isles and got his last job there. He has a splendid view from his home outside Kirkwall, but I prefer the huddled streets of Stromness with the great views of the mountains on Hoy.

As I like cool temperatures the climate would suit me. However, it is a long way even from Aberdeen and while the local hospital is well regarded any advanced medical treatment requires a flight to Aberdeen. It's not necessarily a cheap destination as the ísland economy is doing well. Moreover, I would still be in the UK.

We still need experts

In one of her recent diatribes, tin eared Liz Truss said that people were fed up with experts who were always wrong.  I wouldn't bother with her vapourings, except that her remark echoed that by Michael Gove that 'we've had enough of experts'.

If I took this at face value it would be quite alarming.   I am fortunate enough ti live in a very efficient and innovative NHS trust.  When I felt unwell recently I called the community emergency response service.  A nurse arrived in 20 minutes, checked me over and tried a minor procedure. 

When this didn't work she called her coordinator who told her to call an ambulance.   This arrived promptly with a very helpful paramedic on board.   On arrival at A and E I was immediately sent for a scan and a battery of blood tests.

Three different doctors examined me and then two returned and carried out a minor procedure.  I was then told that I was well enough to go home.  My only disappointment was that the fire brigade didn't take me home which was the service provided for my partner.

Throughout all this time, I was in the hands of experts.   They hadn't gone online and decided that they would be doctors, paramedics, ambulance drivers or nurses for a day.  They had gone through a long process of qualification and monitored experience.   They were experts and caring ones at that.

Now, I suppose the response to that could be 'aqueducts' as in the Monty Python Life of Brian in response to the question, 'What have the Romans ever done for us?'   Doctors (and vets) could be treated as an exception to the general rule.

The populist logic is that experts are part of a technocratic elite that exploit the mass of the population, e.g., scientists claim to believe in climate change because they can get money to study it.   Or they urge people to take vaccines because they profit from them, or at least big pharma does.

On reflection this distrust of experts has deep roots in British culture and history.  We were the first country to industrialise and in large part this was done by trial and error and training consisted of 'sittuig by Nelly.'

Countries like Germany decided to go down a systematic technical education route, hence in the First World War we had to get our supplies of khaki from Germany and after the war was over engaged in industrial espionage to discover the secrets of the German chemical industry, albeit we were helped by German emigres and the formation of ICI.

We need experts more than ever, but also politicians who are prepared to take uncomfortable decisions and that is too much to hope for.

Is an anti-woke visa for me?

Rumours of a pre-election merger between the Conservatives and Reform have been denied, but it's effectively what happened in Canada.    Having one party on the right to defend privilege has a certain logic.   However, at the moment all that is happening is that every second rate Tory rat is deserting a sinking ship as Kemi Kaze does her best to re-establish the Tories as the 'nasty' party.

So I had better resume my search for a bolt hole.  With the cooperation of a former Tory candidate, Russia is offering three year 'anti-woke' visas.  I have never really understood what 'woke' means, but as I nap  a lot I probably don't qualify.  Anyway I don't share my gardener's view that Putin is a colossus of the 21st century as he stands up to the Ukranian Nazis.   To me he looks like a man searching for some justification to attack the Baltic States.

I wondered if I ought to start in the British Isles.   I have had a couple of excellent holidays in Jersey in the past few years (superb fish suppers), but the population density and traffic would get me down.  Anyway, I am not rich enough to qualify.

Guernsey is said to be more 'understated', i.e., down market.   When I was briefly approving graduate courses for our new medical school, I was astonished to be told that all the staff on a new MSc in Cosmetic Dentistry lived there.   I started to probe gently as to how they would get to classes and they told me that some of them had qualified as pilots and they had their own fleet of small planes called DentAir.

Alderney intrigues me. but I have never been there and jt is far too remote.   Perhaps I should look at the Isle of Man which has some great scenery and is a less expensive place to live.